This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Stanley Cup: Blackhawks gain confidence but Bruins ready to bounce back in Game 5

Notes and quotes from around the Stanley Cup final.

Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Brent Seabrook celebrates his game-winning goal against the Boston Bruins during the first overtime period in Game 4 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in Boston. Chicago won 6-5. (Elise Amendola / AP)

CHICAGO—You could tell by their body language that the Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of confidence.

And why not? They believe they figured out a way to expose Zdeno Chara. He was on for five of Chicago’s six goals in Game 4.

The Blackhawks used their speed, and threw in some physical play, to make up for Chara’s long reach.

“He’s a big guy,” said Brandon Saad. “That’s one of the main goals is to get him to move his feet and try to sustain that pressure. He’s a great defenceman but to keep that pressure and have the success that we did, that’s always a positive thing.

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said his team was being too respectful of Chara’s defensive prowess.

Article Continued Below

“He does a lot of good things, and he uses his size and his reach to his advantage, and I think maybe at times in the first couple games we were giving him a little bit too much respect by trying to keep the puck away from him,” said Toews. “He’s not a guy that we should be afraid of. We should go at him, protect the puck from him, make plays around him and through him. Use our speed.

“You saw the goal that Marcus Krüger scored, Fro (Michael Frolik) never stopped moving his feet and got around him —great play by those two guys to finish off that play. It’s a small example of the way we can expose him. They’ve got a handful of solid players that we want to key on every single night, and he’s one of those guys, so we’ll try and keep that going.”

The Bruins, of course, beg to differ. A defeat, even one in which Chara was beaten, is a one-off to them. Nothing they can’t bounce back from.

“(Chara) is one of the best defenceman in the league and a guy that big and that strong you don’t really want to play around with a whole lot,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. “They’re welcome to say whatever they want. We are just worried about how we have to play in the room. (Chara) steps up every night and plays his best so we can expect that.”

-

BOUNCE BACK: Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask says both he and the team can bounce back in Game 5 on Saturday after Thursday’s 6-5 loss.

“That’s something we definitely can do,” said Rask. “We can’t just rely on the fact that we have done it in the past. We have to go out there and make it happen again. We feel confident that we have it in us, but we have to be better.”

And how did he rate his own performance, allowing six goals for the first time in the playoffs?

“Well, every goal is stoppable, but I don’t think there were any weak ones so to speak,” said Rask. “Mistakes piled up and I wasn’t able to bail our guys out. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. You don’t say that I should have had it or I shouldn’t had it. It doesn’t make any difference.”

-

TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD: The best-of-seven Stanley Cup final is tied 2-2 with games Saturday in Chicago, Monday in Boston and Game 7 — if necessary — Wednesday in Chicago.

“Best two out of three,” said Bruins forward Brad Marchand. “We’re excited about it. It really doesn’t matter now we just have to make sure we focus on having a really good game next game.

Marchand is not surprised the series is tied.

“I don’t think anyone expected to come into this series and win it in four or five games on either side. I mean 2 to 2. We got to be happy with that. Chicago was dominant all year and we are happy that we are just sticking in it.”

-

GREAT DEBATE: It’s a debate more for sports bars than for an off-day question-and-answer session, but a couple of the Blackhawks were asked what they thought of the team’s logo, described by some aficionados of jerseys as one of the best in team sports.

Growing up to be a Leafs fan, Original Six, and then you look at this Hawks jersey, it’s a great honour to represent it,” said Chicago’s Bryan Bickell. “I believe it’s the best logo in sports. You know, to have these guys beside me and then you mention (Bobby) Hull and (Stan) Mikita and those guys have a statue out here, it’s a great history we have here and it’s great to be a part of it.

Said Brent Seabrook: “Bickell nailed it. I think it’s one of the best logos in hockey and in all of sports. I think we take a lot of pride playing here. It’s got a lot of great history. I know growing up for myself playing in Vancouver as a kid and everybody wanting to have a Canucks jersey, we played on a summer hockey team when I was nine and we were the Blackhawks. It just goes to show how many people love the uniform and want to be associated with the uniform. I think the colours along with the logo are just awesome.”

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com